Former Zurich Insurance CEO Martin Senn Kills Self

By John Letzing

ZURICH--Former CEO of Zurich Insurance Group AG Martin Senn, who left the company in December, has killed himself, marking the second suicide among the insurer's top management ranks in the past few years.

"It is with great shock and sadness that we must inform you of the sudden death of Martin Senn," Zurich Insurance said in a statement on Monday. "His family informed us that Martin took his life last Friday."

"With the passing of Martin, we lose not only a highly valued former CEO and colleague but also a close friend. Our thoughts are with his bereaved family and friends, to whom we extend our deepest sympathies."

Mr. Senn's death follows the suicide of former Zurich Insurance Chief Financial Officer Pierre Wauthier in 2013. An internal probe at the insurer, conducted under the supervision of Switzerland's financial regulator, later cleared company leaders of placing an inappropriate amount of stress on Mr. Wauthier.

During the company's annual meeting in early 2014, Mr. Senn said that, "The grief and shock we experienced at the suicide of our colleague Pierre Wauthier was enormous."

Mr. Senn stepped aside last December, capping what had been a difficult period for the company. At the time, Mr. Senn cited Zurich Insurance's difficulties in revamping its largest business, and its failure to seal an ambitious acquisition of U.K.-based RSA Insurance Group PLC.

Last February, the company reported a larger-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter, and said about 15% of its employees would be "affected" by cost-cutting efforts.

The earnings report came shortly after Zurich Insurance had announced a successor to Mr. Senn, former Assicurazioni Generali SpA CEO Mario Greco--a one-time Zurich Insurance executive who assumed the CEO role at the Zurich-based company in March.

Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 30, 2016 05:09 ET (09:09 GMT)

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